Economy of Lovia

The economy of Lovia is the 129th economy of the world. The nominal GDP of Lovia was estimated to be $10.369 billion in 2012, 11.521 billion in Lovian dollars. With a GDP per capita of $45,686 per year and an economy of more than 10 billion dollar, Lovia is considered a first world country. Lovia has a mixed economy, heavy reliant on the tertiary sector. The unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the world, and the economy has grown at a stable rate since the 1950s.

Lovia is one of the richest countries in the world, with almost no people living below the poverty line. There is a large middle and lower class and a tiny upper class. Lovia has a well-developed infrastructure, high productivity and a small gap between the rich and the poor. A few super-wealthy families and individuals dominate most large companies. This economical elite has owned a large part of the economy for generations, and concerns have risen over monopolies and the excessive wealth of those individuals. It is considered very hard for start-ups to enter this established business world. The International Monetary Fund has expressed its concerns regarding rampant corruption and nepotism in the Lovian upper-class, a rarity in a highly developed western country.

Due to an abundance of natural resources, fertile land and an extremely high export surplus, the country has virtually no debt. Luxury products, creative services and the higher segment of consumer goods make up the brunt of the Lovian economy, fueled by high demand from abroad. The high number of diaspora, intellectual refugees and dissidents have created a prospering creative economy.

Economical structure by state

Clymene

Clymene is a somewhat industrialized state, with most of its industry focused on high-tech areas or shipping. Many others work in the fishing industry or the nickel industry. The service sector is smaller than other Lovian states like Sylvania and Kings, but has a large tourist sector, as seen in Adoha. Clymene has a large primary sector, but relatively few people work in agriculture. Most people employed in the primary sector work in the forestry and fishing sectors. The secondary sector of the Clymene economy consists of the harbors of hamlets like Timber Harbor, Lisney and Rosendorp, and a handful of factories found in Sofasi or New Aberdeen.

Traditionally, the Clymene economy has revolved around gold mining and fishing. During the 1930s, this shifted towards an emphasis on manufacturing and the nickel mine industry. Nowadays, no gold is mined anymore, as the accessible gold reserves are mostly exhausted. Some nickel mines are still operational, but mining is not as large of an industry in Clymene as it once was.

The land surface of Clymene is the least cultivated of all states, comparable to some islands in Seven. Near Nóngyè, the land is used to grow rice. Near Feltmolen and Timber Harbor, the land is used to grow wheat. The region around Sofasi consists of orchards and wheat fields. The northern part of Asian Island and almost all of Truth Island are sparsely cultivated and mostly forested.

Finance

The national stock exchange of Lovia is called the Noble City Stock Exchange, located in the capital, Noble City. 29 companies are listed on this stock exchange as of June, 2014.

Health care

Health care is almost exclusively provided by the state. A handful of privately owned clinics are also available to citizens, but they have a very small market share. Health care in Lovia is quite good, but due to the small size of the country, some very specialized treatments are not available in the country itself. Lovians who have a rare health condition go to the United States for treatment.

Lovia is an archipelago, so some residents live far away from a hospital, and need to be transported by helicopter to hospitals in places like Noble City.

Currency and central bank

Main article: Lovian dollar.

The Lovian dollar is the unit of currency of Lovia. The exchange rate of one Lovian dollar was approximately $0.90 in May 2012. The federal government attempts to use both monetary policy (control of the money supply through mechanisms such as changes in interest rates) and fiscal policy (taxes and spending) to maintain low inflation, high economic growth, and low unemployment. The monetary policy is provided by the state-operated central bank, the Bank of Lovia. Its duties are to ensure the Lovian dollar remains stable, to issue new bills and coins, and to combat counterfeiting. The central bank is administered by the ministry of finance.

The Lovian dollar was introduced in 2008 by then-Prime Minister Yuri Medvedev, but not used until 2011. In 2011 the first series was issued. After complaints about the design of the currency, which was considered ugly and prone to falsification, a new series was introduced in 2012. Counterfeiting remained an issue, but less than with the first series. The first series could be exchanged for the second series from September 2011 to January 2013, and was subsequently destroyed by the government.

The US dollar is also a popular currency in the country, because the Lovian dollar can't be used internationally. Many business transactions are done in US dollars. Due to higher than average inflation, the Lovian dollar remains an impopular currency both on the international market and in the country itself.

Counterfeiting is a major issue in Lovia, as the Lovian dollar isn't safeguarded against replication that well. The bills lack many of the most common safety measures, and as a result a huge counterfeiting business emerged in the early years of the introduction of the bill. The central bank promised to include new, hidden safety measures in the reprints of the 2012 series as of 2013.